Who's #1?

Eli Manning winning his second ring with yet another game-winning drive late in the fourth quarter against the Patriots in the Super Bowl has opened up the customary post-Super Bowl debate: Who's the best QB in the NFL right now?

Much to the surprise of no one, New Yorkers as well as media outlets with a P.H.d in overreaction and hysteria hit the social media world to declare Eli's greatness and label him everything short of our newest savior and leader of the free world. Former ESPN personality Max Kellerman opened up a debate on Twitter as to whether Eli was the greatest 4th quarter quarterback of all-time, which lead to Giants fans damn near tripping over themselves to tweet back that the newest King of New York has surpassed the likes of Joe Montana and John Elway and has emerged as "Mr. Clutch". It's what's to be expected of significantly biased fans moments after their team gets a taste of a championship. This time a year ago, most Packers fans would tell you Aaron Rodgers could walk on water while simultaneously curing cancer.

Once the dust settles, however, the question as to who is the top signal caller in the NFL will need a legitimate, non-biased answer. Eli Manning certainly went out of his way to put his name in the discussion and strike back at those who scoffed at his preseason claim that he was an elite QB in the stature of a Tom Brady. But is he #1, and if not, who is? It's a quandary I passed along via text to some of my friends to get varying opinions to mix in with my own thoughts on the matter. At the end of the day, we settled on six quarterbacks who can stake claim to the top spot. Since this is MY website, I ranked them in the order I felt they fall in based on some heavy research and my own takes on their personal achievements.

To help build suspense(though, granted, you could just scroll down), I'm starting from #6 and moving down(or up, if you want to be technical). Feel free to send me your outrage.....

6. Peyton Manning(Age: 35. Will be 36 in March)

Credentials: 4-time NFL MVP, 11-time Pro Bowler, 5-time first-team All-Pro, 3-time 2nd-team All-Pro, lead Colts to two Super Bowls, winning one of them, Super Bowl MVP, fastest to 4,000 completions, fastest to 50,000 passing yards, started 227 straight games including playoffs prior to missing the 2011 season

The case for Peyton: He's the NFL's only four-time MVP. He's remarkably consistent, throwing for at least 4,000 yards in all but two of his thirteen seasons(not including this season, which he didn't play a down of) and threw at least 25 touchdown passes every year since 1998(his rookie season), surpassing the 30 TD mark four times and hitting the 40 TD mark once in 2004 with a then-NFL record 49. The biggest case for Manning's standing atop the QB mountain may have came without him even seeing the field. With Manning sidelined the entire year coming off neck surgery, the Colts plummeted to a league-worst 2-14 record.

The case against Peyton: Obviously, uncertainty is the biggest issue with Manning. For one, we don't know if he'll ever play again. There were early reports that Manning has been cleared to play but Colts owner Jim Irsay says his team doctors declare otherwise. What we DO know is Manning has seen his last days as an Indianapolis Colt as the team will move on with inevitable #1 pick Andrew Luck in 2012. At 36, coming off three neck surgeries, having not played a game since January of last year and now starting for a as-yet-unknown team, it's hard to gauge the prospects of Peyton returning to the top. How much faith do you put in Peyton putting up his usual numbers in somewhere like Washington or Miami? What about if he lands on a contender like Kansas City or the Jets? There's still so much we don't know yet, but Peyton's resume is long enough to warrant him a spot on the list.

5. Drew Brees(age: 33)

Credentials: 6-time Pro Bowler, 4-time All-Pro, Super Bowl champion and MVP, 2-time NFL Offensive Player of the Year, AP Male Athlete of the Year, NFL Comeback Player of the Year, Sportsman of the Year, all-time single season record holder for passing yards, completions, 300+ yard games in a season, most consecutive seasons with 4,000 yards(6, tied with Peyton Manning), most consecutive seasons with 4,000 yards and 30+ TD's(4 and counting), most completions in a Super Bowl(32), only QB to throw for 5,000 yards in a season twice in his career

The case for Drew: Brees is a statistical juggernaut, as evident by the paragraph above(and those are only the important achievements. The other NFL records and team records could have stretched another four lines). Since coming to New Orleans and uniting with Sean Payton, Brees went on a campaign to rub San Diego's nose(as well as other teams that passed on him in free agency, like Miami) in a pile of excrement for leaving him for dead following his shoulder injury at the end of the 2005 season. He's proven to be a mortal lock for 4,000 yards and 30 TD's, at minimum, and he's doing it with guys who aren't exactly big names like Lance Moore and Jimmy Graham.

The case against Drew: It's hard to knock such a world-class human being but if there's a bone to pick with Brees, it might be his lack of success in the playoffs. If you take away his miracle Super Bowl run in 2009, Brees' postseason career is littered with some disappointments, including getting eliminated by inferior Seattle two years ago and losing a stunner to San Francisco this past season. Brees is 5-4 in his career in the playoffs, which isn't horrible but could be a lot better when you consider the opposition that sent Brees and company home early. It also should be mentioned that Brees got off to such a slow start in San Diego that the team invested the #1 pick in the 2004 Draft on Eli Manning(which they later turned into Philip Rivers), which lead to Brees' exile from the Chargers not long after.

3. (tie) Ben Roethlisberger(age: 29), Eli Manning(age: 31)

Credentials for Roethlisberger: 2-time Pro Bowler, lead Steelers to three Super Bowls before he even turned 30 and won two, AP NFL Rookie of the Year, most wins by a rookie QB in a season(13), youngest QB to win a Super Bowl, second-youngest QB to win two Super Bowls

Credentials for Manning: 2-time Pro Bowler, two-time Super Bowl champion, 2-time Super Bowl MVP, NFL record for most 4th quarter TD passes in a single season(15), NFL record for most road wins in the playoffs by a quarterback(5)

The case for Big Ben: From the minute he stood under center for the Steelers, Roethlisberger changed Pittsburgh's fortunes for the better. He went 14-1(including playoffs) in his rookie season and won his first Super Bowl in his second year as starter. Since then, he's been the model for toughness(albeit, not exactly durability) and is the chief reason the Steelers remain a contender year-in and year-out. When legendary coach Bill Cowher retired, many thought the Steelers would take a while to bounce back under new coach Mike Tomlin. Instead, Roethlisberger carried the Steel Curtian to another Super Bowl title and came within a final drive of winning his third one two years ago against Green Bay.

The case against Big Ben: His numbers aren't spectacular, but they are solid for a QB leading a team that's known for being smashmouth(though they became more pass-oriented under former OC Bruce Arians). Roethlisberger has thrown for more than 25 TD passes twice in eight seasons and has eclipsed the 4,000 yard mark twice as well. For all his toughness and willingness to play through pain, even Ben has his limits. Roethlisberger has played a full season just once in his career and, oddly enough, it was his worst season statistically(17 TD-to-15 INT). Big Ben also has the Drew Bledsoe curse of staying in the pocket too long waiting for the big play to develop and taking unnecessary sacks. Since 2006, Big Ben has been sacked at least 40 times every season except 2010, when he missed four games due to suspension(and he still finished with 32 sacks).

The case for Eli: For the second time in the Super Bowl(and the third time in the past three showdowns), Eli Manning marched down the field against the New England Patriots and engineered the game-winning drive. He has emerged as Mr. 4th Quarter and he will forever be known for his valiant effort in Super Bowl 42, defeated a then-undefeated Patriots team and pulling off one of the greatest plays in Super Bowl history when he connected with David Tyree on the game-winning drive. He's thrown for 4,000 yards in the last three seasons and is now 7-3 in the playoffs.

The case against Eli: These are the facts Giants fans aren't trying to hear when they are busying championing Eli as the second coming. For all the talk about Eli's postseason greatness, it should be mentioned that Eli's playoff achievements barely happened because Eli and company were so underwhelming in the regular season that they needed late-season collapses by the Cowboys to back into the playoffs. In Eli's two Super Bowl champion years, the Giants were 10-6 and 9-7 in 2007 and 2011 respectively. In between those two years, Eli lead the Giants to the playoffs ONCE and they were one-and-done in 2008. It should also be mentioned that the same fans that now think Eli is a gridiron Jesus were ready to throw him and coach Tom Coughlin out of the Big Apple prior to the 2007 playoffs. Eli's thrown more than 30 TD's once in his career but has lead the league in interceptions twice. As great as he's been against the likes of Aaron Rodgers and Tom Brady, he got outplayed twice by the Redskins this season(your starting QB's for Washington in those games? Rex Grossman. Yikes.). Manning also took L's this season to teams led by Vince Young and Tarvaris Jackson. Look, I'm not saying Eli hasn't stepped up into the upper echelon of quarterbacks but run his numbers against Big Ben's and tell me how they aren't freakishly similar. You've never heard anyone call Big Ben the best QB in the game, have you? Two Super Bowl wins certainly legitimizes Eli's claim to the crown but it hardly secures his seat on the throne. Feel free to send me your hate mail, Giants fans.

2. Aaron Rodgers (age: 28)

Credentials: 2-time Pro Bowler, First-team All-Pro once, NFL MVP, Super Bowl champion and MVP, AP Male Athlete of the Year, NFL single-season record holder for QB rating(122.5), only QB to throw for 4,000 in each of his first two seasons as starter, only QB to in NFL history to throw for 45+ touchdowns and 6 or less interceptions.

The case for A-Rod: Oh, I can see your predictable jabs now. "Aw, Dave's a homer! How can he put Rodgers ahead of Eli when Eli beat Rodgers in the playoffs this year!?". A valid question, I grant you. The proof is in the numbers. Football is a team sport, not an individual sport, no matter how much we want to chalk Super Bowls down to Brees vs. Peyton or Big Ben vs. A-Rod or Eli vs. Brady. At the end of the day, one TEAM emerges victorious(That being said, A-Rod is 1-1 against Eli, even if Eli's win came in a game of greater importance). If we gave individuals credit for team accomplishments, then Big Ben would be alot higher on this list. If you want to put Eli ahead of A-Rod because the Giants beat the Packers in the playoffs than I get to put Donovan McNabb ahead of Eli for the number of times McNabb has sent Eli packing in the postseason. Sound fair? Didn't think so. What Rodgers has done in such a short span, not to mention the fact he took over for an icon in Brett Favre amidst a very ugly split between Favre and the team, is nothing short of incredible. Yes, the Packers backed into the playoffs last season, got hot at the right time and won the Super Bowl, a la Eli in 2007. Rodgers came back the next year, went 14-1 as a starter, won the NFL MVP in a landslide and came a few dropped passes and bad defense from running the table again. 4,000 yards in back-to-back seasons isn't as impressive as it used to be considering defensive rule changes now allow the game to be glorified two-hand touch and passing offenses have become a bit more creative. A 45-6 TD-to-INT ratio in an offense that is almost exclusively utilizing the pass, however? Remarkable.

The case against A-Rod: We're judging Rodgers on such a short sample. Even though he's been in the league seven years, Rodgers has only started for four. Granted, in those three seasons, he's 41-21 as a starter but it's hard to get too worked up over four seasons of work. On top of that, Rodgers has laid some eggs in the playoffs. As good as the Giants were this year, the Packers proved they could beat Big Blue and a lot of the blame for that Divisional round loss falls on Rodgers' shoulders for being surprisingly off in key moments. Rodgers also cost the Packers a Wild Card win in Arizona when he fumbled the ball away which lead to the game-winning touchdown in overtime(In Rodgers' defense, he brought the Packers back from 21-0. In the anti-Rodgers' defense, his two early turnovers were the chief reason they were down so much.). We need to see more excellence out of Rodgers before we could give him the title that he fictitiously applies to himself after every score. You could do alot worse than 3-2 in the playoffs in your first three years but Rodgers needs more seasons like 2010 to keep him out of the Phillip Rivers "great regular season QB's who flop in the playoffs" category. Also, and it pains me to say this as a Packers fan, Matt Flynn's record-setting performance in Week 17 this season hurt Rodgers' stock a little bit to me, even if it came against a terrible Lions defense.

1. Tom Brady(age: 34)

Credentials: 7-time Pro Bowler, 2-time First Team All-Pro, 2nd-team All-Pro once, 2-time MVP, 2-time Offensive Player of the Year, lead the Patriots to five Super Bowls, winning three as well as two Super Bowl MVPs, NFL Comeback Player of the Year, AP Male Athlete of the Year, 2-time Sportsman of the Year, NFL record for touchdown passes in a single-season(50), most consecutive wins in the playoffs(10), most career completions in the Super Bowl, most consecutive passing attempts without an interception(358), one of two quarterbacks to lead his team to an undefeated regular season

The case for Tom: As much as Giants fans want to herald Eli as the king of comebacks, here's a stat for you: With the his team tied or down in the 4th quarter, Brady has engineered 33 game-winning drives in his career(three of which coming in the Super Bowl, albeit not against Eli Manning. You got me there, Giants fans.). He's 8-1 in overtime games. He's 138-40 as a starter, 14-5 in the playoffs. As disappointing as the last two Super Bowl losses were(especially since New England was favored both times, including being heavy favorites in 2007/2008), there's a short list of QB's who have lead their team to five Super Bowls. That list? Tom Brady....The End. Sure, Eli Manning has his number....and Shane Mosley has Oscar De La Hoya's number. It's a mere bump in the road along the way of a decorated career. Brady's lead the league in TD passes three times, passing yards twice and completion percentage once. He's as statistically dominant a quarterback as we've seen in the history of the game. Before Eli pulled off the single greatest Super Bowl upset by dispatching an 18-0 Patriots team, Brady pulled off a pretty big upset of his own by taking a heavy underdog Patriots team and beating Kurt Warner and "The Greatest Show On Turf" for his first Super Bowl in 2001. I know this piece seems more like an Eli Manning roast than an acknowledgement of his standing among the game's best passers, but that's mainly because everything that overzealous fans want to give Eli credit for has been done before by other guys on this list. You want to take Eli's 2011 season and use it as proof that he's better than Tom Terrific or Joe Cool, then I'm going to suggest you re-watch "The Catch" or Montana's sterling drive against Cincinnati in the Super Bowl or any one of Brady's 4th quarter drives in his three Super Bowl wins. I'm not even a Brady fan, but I know greatness when I see it and two losses on the biggest stage doesn't sully a career enough to put someone with paltry career numbers over a human record book.

The case against Tom: If you want to pick nits, he dropped the ball in two Super Bowls he should have had in the bag. After leading the game-winning drives in Super Bowl wins against St. Louis, Philadelphia and Carolina, Brady let us down by failing not once, but twice against the Giants in the Super Bowl when he had superior offenses in both games(Though the offenses were a bit closer in 2011 than in 2008). He also gets some criticism for being the poster child for the "sissy-fying" of the NFL. Thanks to Brady's season-ending knee injury in 2008 when Bernard Pollard hit him low in the first game of the season, the NFL has went out of its way to protect QB's like sacred cows. Brady's constant whining for roughing calls also makes it hard to root for him and there are Raiders fans still bitter that Brady introduced us to the "Tuck Rule". If you want to say it's unfair for holding the last two Super Bowls against Brady, so be it. If Brady isn't 0-2 against the Giants in the Super Bowl, this isn't even a debate. Tom Brady should be a five-time Super Bowl champion. Instead, he can settle for a seat atop the QB mountain. For now.

It's Most Valuable Player...Not Players

If Drew Brees vs. Aaron Rodgers for the 2011 NFL MVP were a prizefight, it would go a little something like this: Rodgers would knock down Brees in the first, spend the next few rounds outboxing Brees with precision punching and uncanny efficiency before Brees would roar back to steal the remaining rounds.

Who would win when the final bell rang and we went to the cards would depend on how you scored each round. That's what we're dealing with as voters go to the mattresses with a decision to make between the last two Super Bowl MVPs. There are questions every voter has to ask themselves. How much stock do you put in Rodgers beating Brees in Week 1? Do you care more about individual stats or wins? Does Matt Flynn's record-setting performance yesterday somehow hurt Rodgers' candidacy?

There are a number of factors to consider. In one corner, you have a man that shattered a nearly 25-year old record in Dan Marino's single-season passing mark as well as breaking Peyton Manning's single-season completion record while completing nearly 72% of his passes and throwing for 46 TD. In the other corner is a defending Super Bowl MVP who has lost all of one game all season and set a record of his own this year: the single season record for QB rating. Brees has nearly 1,000 more yards than Rodgers. Rodgers has 8 less interceptions than Brees. He's also thrown 155 less passes than Brees. Rodgers is 14-1 as a starter. Brees? 13-3. Brees had five multi-INT games this season. Rodgers had zero. Brees lost to lowly St. Louis(and backup A.J. Feeley), Rodgers to slightly-less mediocre Kansas City(on a day where they had fired their coach in the middle of the week and were starting their third string QB). Brees spent the final game of the regular season dismantling Carolina. Rodgers spent it in a ballcap while his backup set single-game franchise records in passing yards and TD's against playoff-bound Detroit.

It's pretty much a toss-up. How can you argue one over the other? Which is why I think we're headed for the first NFL co-MVPs since 2003 when Steve McNair and Peyton Manning split the award. That, to me, would be fitting.....and a tragedy. Eventhough both men deserve the honor of both being called MVP and both men played this NFL season with the execution of decorated sniper, there needs to be one winner. Obviously, as a Packer fan, my vote goes to Rodgers and, it will tough to watch Brees take the consolation prize(Offensive Player of the Year) yet again after being edged out by Manning just a couple years ago.

However, the case for Rodgers is pretty extensive. He's lost once dating back to last Christmas(I know, you can't count last season when considering this year's achievements, but it's worth noting). With an undefeated season still on the line, Rodgers marched the Packers downfield in under a minute to set up the game-winning field goal against the eventual NFC East champion New York Giants(Brees, meanwhile, led the Saints down the field against the Packers for what would have been the game-winning final drive but got DENIED when the Pack stuffed Mark Ingram on the one-yard line in the season opener). He's thrown just six interceptions in an offense that has gotten nothing from the running game, has had to constantly shuffle its offensive line due to injury. With his three starting offensive tackles out, Rodgers lit up a very good Bears defense in what would be his final regular season performance to the tune of 289 yards and five TD's while not taking a sack. He had almost half as many rushing yards this season(257) as his leading rusher(James Starks, 578) and one less rushing TD than the team's leader(fullback John Kuhn, with 4). As great as Brees' numbers are, Rodgers' stat line of 4,643 yards, 45 TDs, 6 INT's with a 68.3 completion percentage and a 122.5 passer rating isn't exactly chump change.

Numbers, however, is going to be Brees' biggest case(if not his only case). A lot is going to be made out of Brees breaking Marino's single-season passing yards record.....until you realize that Tom Brady did it, too, this season. In fact, prior to this season, Marino was the only QB in NFL history to throw for 5,000 yards. There were three 5,000 yard QB's in this year alone(Brees, Brady and Matt Stafford). It's hard to put stock in gaudy numbers when a guy like Cam Newton can come into his rookie season with barely any training camp and throw for 4,000 yards. Defense was at a premium in 2011 and, if you don't believe me, feel free to name me at least five good defenses this year. Hell, the Packers are 15-1 with a defense that was dead last in total yards and passing yards allowed. I can point to a couple crappy Brees games this year(Week 6 vs. Tampa Bay, Week 8 vs. St. Louis....both losses....to teams that were a combined 6-26). I can think of just one for Rodgers(the lone loss to Kansas City, and even then Rodgers didn't turn the ball over. Brees, on other hand, five INT's in those two aforementioned losses). The reason behind Brees' candidacy is two-fold: 1. He's put on a show late while Rodgers, albeit superb, has been on cruise control because he's maintained a consistent level of excellence and Brees' mastery has managed to stay more current in people's minds(especially since he broke Marino's record two weeks ago on national television as well as played in Week 17 while Rodgers rested). 2. Brees is one of the league's most likable guys. That's not to say Rodgers is an asshole but 10-20 years from now coaches, players and parents will point to Brees' postgame speech after trouncing Atlanta and breaking Marino's record as the textbook example of teamwork and selfless behavior even if it came in a game where Brees and company rubbed it in by trying for the record up 22 in the 4th quarter. That last sentence, and I realize this is nitpicking, is what sticks in my craw a little in terms of picking Brees over Rodgers. Morning radio programs and debate shows have blasted athletes for years for running up scores and padding individual stats......so how did Brees get a pass from the mainstream media(granted, not a complete pass, as there were some who were up in arms....but those were mainly Atlanta-based scribes). If Terrell Owens started calling for the ball up 21 in the fourth quarter so he could break Jerry Rice's single-season recieving record, would we be as lenient on T.O. as we've been on Brees? It's a pointless debate, sure, but it's something to consider.

If I had my way, the MVP would reflect the postseason as well and the eventual rematch between Rodgers and Brees in the NFC Championship would not only have Super Bowl ramifications but would be a winner-takes-all scenario for the MVP as well. Rodgers gets the edge from me because I'm a biased Packers fan who watched his favorite player play defenses like a fiddle for 15 weeks. Rodgers' 2011 season was one of the greatest QB seasons in NFL history when you consider efficiency, circumstance and pure numbers. Brees' numbers are impressive as well and he won't be forgotten for re-writing the record books, but to give Brees the award because his coaches allowed him to put on an offensive onslaught the last few weeks in an attempt to both let Brees take a sledgehammer to long-standing records and make a last minute push for MVP would be unfortunate. To go back to the boxing comparison, it would be like scoring 10-9 rounds for Brees because he threw flurries of punches in the closing seconds of each round. Brees vs. Rodgers is the Hagler-Leonard of MVP races. It's a debate we will have long after the dust settles on this season. However, like Hagler-Leonard, there can be only one winner. Two men can't BOTH be the most valuable. It's impossible for me to not side with my guy, no matter how objective I've tried to be in the past month or so and no matter how much respect I have a guy like Drew Brees. It's a tough call to make but it's one that shouldn't be made straddling a fence.

One season. One MVP.

That's how it's supposed to be.

Who Turned Out The Lights?

Years from now, we may remember this past Monday night as the night it all came unglued for the San Diego Chargers. Eventhough I forecasted an epic downfall for the Bolts this season and picked Kansas City for their eventual upset at Arrowhead, it never became more evident that things were on a downward spiral for the Chargers until we saw QB Phillip Rivers throw tantrum after tantrum on the field shouting at his teammates on that rainy night in Kansas City.

You see, in the NFL, long-term success is based on the ability to minimize big mistakes. That's why teams that don't draft or sign free agents well over a significant amount of time tend to fail(Oakland, Denver, Cleveland and, until recently, Detroit) while others reap the benefits of their wise decisions(Green Bay, Philly, Indy, and until recently, New England). The Patriots have been on both sides of this spectrum. In the early part of this millennium, they established a dynasty by hitting home runs on a few draft picks(Tom Brady, Richard Seymour, Logan Mankins, Asante Samuel, etc.) and making some savvy pick-ups(Roosevelt Colvin, Corey Dillon, Wes Welker, the first Randy Moss year). Over the course of the last few years, the Pats, either through arrogance or bad luck, haven't had the same fortune. After years of winning with journeymen running backs, the Pats swung and missed on first-rounder Laurence Maroney(who was dealt yesterday to Denver for a 4th round pick). They are starting to see the downside to bringing in a notorious malcontent like Moss. They wiffed on the Adalius Thomas signing, and a few of their risky draft picks have yet to pan out(Brandon Meriweather, Brandon Tate, to name a couple). Good coaching and the consistency of guys like Brady and Welker have kept New England from being where San Diego currently is now.

Don't get me wrong. The Chargers have been successful over the last few years, including division titles the last four years and playoff berths in five of the last six seasons. However, their success hasn't translated into championships and, while winning can erase most problems, if the wheels are indeed falling off on the Chargers wagon, it will because of a couple key critical mistakes that are now coming back to haunt them.

Mistake #1: In 2004, the Chargers decided to pull the plug on their experiment with an undersized QB from Purdue named Drew Brees as their franchise QB after a couple unproductive seasons. Sitting first in the Draft after a 4-12 season, the Chargers pulled the trigger on Ole Miss QB Eli Manning. After Manning played the diva card and demanded a trade out of San Diego on Draft Day, San Diego swung a deal that netted them North Carolina State gunslinger Phillip Rivers.

The Result: Brees used Rivers' presence as the final spark to light the fire under his ass. After throwing 28 touchdowns(to 31 INTs) in his first two full seasons as starter, Brees threw 27 TDs to just 7 picks while going 11-4 in 15 starts. The next season, Brees threw for 24 TDs in his contract year, but wrecked his shoulder on what would be his final snap as a Charger. Brees would go on to sign with New Orleans, becomes the Saints' savior and win a Super Bowl. Rivers, meanwhile, wasn't too shabby himself as Brees' replacement. He's led the Chargers to playoffs every year since taking over, went to the Pro Bowl in '06 and '09, and has established himself as one of the best QBs in the game. Still, of the 2004 Big Three QB's(Manning, Ben Roethlisberger and Rivers), he remains the only one without a ring and, for all of Rivers' good, there have been times where Rivers' frat boy cockiness and immaturity rear its ugly head(such as this past Monday night and his pissing match with Jay Cutler a couple years ago).

Mistake #2: Despite a 14-2 season and coming thisclose to a Super Bowl berth, tensions between head coach Marty Schottenheimer and GM A.J. Smith lead to Schottie's upheaval. San Diego opts for Norv Turner, a man with a reputation for being solid as a coordinator but has flopped nearly everywhere he's been the head coach.

The Result: The Chargers haven't exactly missed a beat under Turner. The offense is still prolific and the team still manages to make frequent trips to the postseason. Still, in crunch time situations, Turner's lack of ability as a leader tends to show and he has to accept a brunt of the blame for this team underachieving in January(most notably, last season, when they were shut down by the wild card Jets). Meanwhile, Schottenheimer's name comes up every once in a while as a head coaching candidate(he was linked to Cleveland last year before the Browns decided to stick with Eric Mangini). The fact that Schottenheimer hasn't been picked up anywhere outside of as a consultant for the Jets kind of takes some of the pressure off of Turner and his struggles, but if the Chargers fail and Marty can find work elsewhere, we will forever wonder what could have been if cooler heads prevailed.

Mistake # 3: Coming off his two worst seasons as a pro, the Chargers finally decide to sever ties with future Hall of Fame RB LaDainian Tomlinson and move up in this year's Draft to select Ryan Mathews out of Fresno State as his heir apparent.

The Result: The jury is still out on whether swapping LT for Mathews was smart. History has shown us that its better to cut your losses early with running backs(especially ones with the milage L.T. had prior to his release) nearing or at the age of 30(L.T. was technically 31 when he was cut). Through one game this season, Mathews has outrushed Tomlinson 75 to 63 but it should be mentioned that Mathews was putting in work against a still young Chiefs defense and L.T. was splitting carries with Shonn Greene against one of the best run defenses in football in Baltimore. Perhaps this isn't a "mistake", per se, but you wonder if the smarter play was to let L.T., however much of a cadaver he was in his past two seasons(and even as bad as they were, he still rushed for nearly 1,1oo yards with 11 TDs two years ago and had a team-high 12 TDs last year), finish things out as a Bolt and split time with Mathews before the youngster eventually took over(kind of like how Seattle did with Ricky Waters and Shaun Alexander) rather than push L.T. off the wagon and go with a Mathews/Darren Sproles tag team.

Mistake # 4: Despite the lack of a salary cap, GM A.J. Smith does not feel compelled to throw big dollars at WR Vincent Jackson, coming off a career year that saw him go to the Pro Bowl, or two-time Pro Bowl left tackle Marcus McNeil. Instead, the team tries to make due with guys like Malcolm Floyd and Legedu Naanee at wideout and cross their fingers that Brandon Dombrowski can protect Rivers' blind side after the Tra Thomas signing blows up in their face.

The Result: This, to me, will be the nail in the coffin if these contract situations continue to go unresolved. We knew Jackson was going to miss the first three games of the season thanks to a suspension for a DUI. We knew Jackson would then take a hard stance and refuse to play the rest of the season. We do not know why the Chargers, given a WR market that saw guys like Anquan Boldin and Brandon Marshall get dealt out of their respective towns, would refuse to move Jackson when there was still interest. The Seahawks and Rams inquired about trading for Jackson but were either turned off by SD's demands or never got the indication that Smith was serious about making a deal.

As for McNeil, Rivers hasn't taken enough punishment yet to really chastise the decision to be thrifty with such an elite pass-protector, and the Chargers don't play anyone with a decent enough pass rush to exploit McNeil's absence for quite some time. Still, Rivers never looked comfortable in the pocket against a meek Chiefs pass rush and when you combine a lack of protection with the absence of his favorite receiver, you start to get an understanding to why Rivers was a bit peeved at his boys on Monday night. At this point, I don't think Jackson's ever lacing them up for San Diego again. McNeil may come back if Rivers starts to feel a bit more pressure than he's used to and starts directing his anger at the suits to get his Pro Bowl left tackle back. Still, the fact that Smith showed a blatant disregard for what has been the team's bread and butter, the passing game, combined with an embarrassing loss to a Chiefs team that were nearly seven point underdogs at home may mean Smith will be joining Jackson on that plane ride out of California.

Depending on how this season goes and the fortunes of guys like Tomlinson and Jackson turn out to be, the Chargers may become one of the great "What Ifs" of this generation. In 2005, the Chargers had the league's best back in Tomlinson, a man who would become a prolific passer in Brees and had just drafted Vincent Jackson on top of already discovering a former basketball player turned Pro Bowl tight end in Antonio Gates. You can't help but wonder what would happen if the powers-that-be didn't break that up. Would a Brees/LT/Jackson/Gates foursome have faired better, with Schottenheimer at the helm, than Norv's Rivers/LT/Jackson/Gates quattro? The world will never know. However, if the Chargers continue to perform like the team that got outplayed on Monday night, it will be a question that will continue to be asked for years to come.....especially to Smith on his way to the unemployment line.

Say My Name

With all the new school technological advancements that have evolved the world of sports, there's one old-school aspect that needs a little sprucing up: Nicknames. Back in the day, you had monikers like "Chocolate Thunder" (Daryl Dawkins), "The Human Highlight Reel" (Dominique Wilkins), and even homo-erotic nicknames like "Sweetness" (Walter Payton). Nowadays, a man's alias is either his initials like L.T., a combination of his first initial and the first three letters of his last name like T-Mac or A-Rod or a combination of initials and jersey number like CP3 or AK-47(though the latter isn't that bad). Now, there are some good modern day ones like "The Akron Hammer" (LeBron James, though that name hasn't gone over so well with some Cavs fans, especially my friend Andre) or "The Brim Reaper" (Former Orioles closer George Sherill), but those have been the exception and not the rule. That's why I decided to take it upon myself to hand out nicknames for a few stars.

1. Chris Bosh: "Avatar". I owe this one to my friend Mike, who mentioned on Facebook that Bosh looked like someone out of Pandora in the movie "Avatar". Think about it though. Bosh is tall, skinny, he has those wild Predator mini-dreads and his cheek bones poke out like a mid-80's Michael Jackson. Besides, he plays for a team that was named the Raptors because of the huge success of the movie "Jurassic Park", why shouldn't its biggest star be named after the biggest movie in years? You can't give Bosh a name like "Air Canada" like the last star in Toronto, Vince Carter, because Bosh might be leaving Canada before The Olympics if the Raptors decide to trade him. However, if Bosh does re-up with the Raps, I can be talked into calling him "The Mountie".

2. Kevin Durant: "Kid Dynamite". Even the cast of "Jersey Shore" wouldn't have come up with nickname as horrid as Durant's current moniker, "The Durant-chula". That's just horrible. "Kid Dynamite" fits Durant because he's young(21) and he's explosive. Sometimes, it's just that simple. Also, the alias "Kid Dynamite" has some lineage. Early in his career, Mike Tyson was christened "Kid Dynamite" because he was young and explosive as well(although at the time, he was explosive IN the ring, as opposed to now being explosive OUT of it). Inevitably, Tyson's PR people saddled him with the more apt "Iron" Mike Tyson. That leaves "Kid Dynamite" up for grabs, and who better than one of the three best players in the NBA?

3. Dwight Howard: "Doomsday". Look, Dwight, you can't be Superman. Shaq was Superman when you were shittin' in your Pampers. Now, in your defense, you have done far more with the Superman title than Shaq ever did(the red cape at the Slam Dunk contest, the outstanding ESPN commercial where you dressed as Clark Kent) and I know Shaq is a role model of yours, but you didn't see Kobe and LeBron rush to take the "Air" from Jordan when #23 finally hung them up, did you? Now, comic mavens like my friend Cubbage will know that Doomsday was one of Superman's arch-nemesis and is one of the only comic book characters to kill Superman. Now, obviously, Dwight, we don't want you to kill Shaq.....his conditioning will do that for you. However, if you and Shaq are going to be rivals for the Superman crown, why not let him be Superman and you can be the more physically imposing Doomsday? Imagine the pub you'll get in the time between now and when Shaq is inevitably traded to the Wizards.

4. Peyton Manning: "The Machine". With all due respect to Cards' slugger Albert Pujols, who has been called "The Machine" on occasion by sportscasters and local media, nobody fits that alias more to a T than Peyton Manning. He's methodical in his diagnosis of a defense. He possesses a laser, rocket arm. His post-game interviews sound like they were written by Johnny 5. Hell, he even runs like a robot. All great players need a nickname. Joe Montana was "Joe Cool". Wayne Gretzky was "The Great One". Hank Aaron was "Hammerin' Hank". With Manning coming closer and closer to "Greatest QB of All-Time" status, he, too, requires a nickname and with his robotic cliches and Windows 7-like precision, I think "The Machine" is apt.

5. Adrian Peterson: "The A-Train". OK, it's not the most original nickname, but shouldn't something as catchy as "A-Train" go to someone a bit more skilled than the last two men to carry the title, Anthony Thomas and Mike Alstott? Running backs are meant to be named after motorized vehicles because they are the perfect combination of size and speed. That's why "The Bus" works so well for Jerome Bettis. Now, to be fair, I've never been a train that fumbles its passengers before take off, so maybe A.P. is going to have to earn this one, but with his blazing speed and violent, hard-charging running style, "The A-Train" has to be much better than A.P. or All Day, right?

6. Drew Brees: "The NOLA Assassin". As fun as it is to yell out "Drew Breeeeeeeeeeeeeeees" when Brees lights it up, it's going to get old at the rate Brees hurls touchdown passes. Brees and his arsenal like to strike quick and go for the jugular on every play, like an assassin. The Saints' offense as a whole is known for getting in the end zone fast and their style of play resembles an NBA fast break. "NOLA", in case you are slow, stands for New Orleans, Louisiana, which(again, if you're slow) is where Brees has achieved legendary status. I also can be talked into "Mighty Mouse", but only with written certification from Damon Stoudemire.

7. Derrick Rose: "Sub-Zero". For those who remember the legendary game "Mortal Kombat", you would recognize was one of the game's icy killers(yes, pun intended). He froze his victims with blast of ice, and, when the time came, ripped off their heads and dangled their spine. Derrick Rose, the brilliant Bulls point guard, is also an icy killer. Cool, calm, unassuming but deadly, like someone with ice in his veins. Now, those well-versed on their slang game know that the word "cold" is typically used to describe something heartless or emotionless. The word "cold" is also used, mainly be Chicago residents, to describe something awesome or nice(thank you, Urban Dictionary). Rose is both of those things: a heartless point man who plays defenses like the cello with ridiculously sick skills. Plus, it's better than the inevitable D-Rose moniker.

8. Albert Pujols: "Terminator". Since we gave "The Machine" to Peyton, it's only right we give Fat Albert a new nickname and what better than the ultimate killing machine. Pujols' once-in-a-lifetime tools(superior hand-eye coordination, uncanny speed on the bases for a big man, hits the ball like he's swinging an oak tree) make him as intimidating to pitchers as Ah-nold was in the Terminator movies. He diagnoses pitches like an android and annihilates a fastball like it was shot out of a water pistol. Plus, a devastating hitter like Pujols deserves a moniker fitting of someone who brings carnage on a day-to-day basis.

Other honorable mentions:

*Shaquille O'Neal: "Seaweed" . Because he's washed up.

*LaDainian Tomlinson: "Blown Fuse" - Because he can no longer carry a charge(or charger).

*Alex Rodriguez: "Capri Sun". Since he's filled with juice and might be a tad fruity.

*Tim Lincecum and Ricky Williams: "Bluntman and Chronic". Self-explanatory.

Now, some of you will wonder why nobody from the NHL made an appearance and the reasons are two-fold: 1. Nobody really cares about hockey and 2. The two most recognizable NHL stars already have sufficient nicknames Sid "The Kid" Crosby and Alexander "The Great" Ovechkin.

Far From Super Bowl

It was supposed to be a shootout between two of the game's premier quarterbacks. It was supposed to be Montana vs. Marino: The Sequel.

It wasn't.

While Peyton Manning(31-45, 333 yards, TD, INT) and Drew Brees(SB record tying 32 completions on 39 attempts, 288 yards and 2 TDs on route to winning the SB MVP) put on a great show statistically, the game lacked the suspenseful back-and-forth of last year's championship game. Even as Manning thundered down the field trying to make up two scores in under four minutes, the actions dragged more than "The Departed". Truth be told, the most exciting play of the entire game came on Tracy Porter's Pick 6 in the fourth quarter that essentially put the game away.

And the halftime show? Jeez. Look, we know that The Who wasn't going to find a new audience by performing vinyl classics to an iPod generation, but they somehow managed to look more dated than Phil Simms' hairdo. To be fair, I was raised in the city in New Jersey, where The Who isn't quite as popular as, say, The Wu-Tang Clan, but if The Who's goal tonight was to attempt to remain relevant to the nation's youth, then they failed miserably. This is the risk you take when you try to play it safe. Since Nipple-Gate, we've seen The Rolling Stones, Prince, Bruce Springsteen and now The Who. Somebody get Fox the number to Kansas' agent! How about we see if Boston is available next year? What about Bon Jovi or maybe even some Foghat? Would a Jay-Z/Beyonce duet have been THAT bad? We really couldn't let the young people have their Taylor Swift? Fuck, put the Jonas Brothers up there if you want to be safe(On second thought, DON'T. I plead with you. Don't do it.).

Then, there's the legendary Super Bowl commercials. Who would have thought that there would be more Danica Patrick sightings during the Super Bowl than Kim Kardashian? Practically all of the million dollar ads shown tonight were largely forgettable with the exception of the trailers for Ridley Scott's "Robin Hood" remake and the other "Avatar" movie, "The Last Airbender". The Doritos people had a bigger impact during the second half than Dallas Clark did, but I couldn't possibly tell you about one of their commercials. It was another lackluster performance on a night of lackluster performances.

Where was the star power? Sure, Manning and Brees showed up and Saints RB Pierre Thomas made his case to make Reggie Bush expendable, but where was Reggie Wayne? Where was Jeremy Shockey? It's a shame when the ex-Hurricanes with the biggest impact during Super Bowl weekend were Warren Sapp and Michael Irvin. Speaking of shames, it's a damn shame that the only Colt defender who came to play tonight was an undersized defensive end playing with torn ankle ligaments. Dwight Freeney's bum wheel was the biggest hot button topic leading up to tonight's game(which should have been a red flag that this was a suckfest from the get-go. Showdown between the two best QB's in the game and our top Super Bowl stories were a defensive end's ankle and a five-year old hurricane?). If you watched the Colts D against the Jets and the Saints D against the Vikings, there is no way you would have came into this game thinking that Indy's defense would be the ones getting picked apart like Clinton Portis at a chicken wing eating contest. Sure, Manning went for over 300 yards and even as things looked grim after the Porter house call, you still never counted the Colts out. However, the Saints D made plays when it mattered. It shut down Reggie Wayne, even as top corner Jabari Greer was hobbled. Manning had to make near-perfect throws to get Dallas Clark involved. The Saints defense made the rookie receivers(Pierre Garcon and Austin Collie) beat them and the rooks came up just short.

As disappointing as tonight was from an action standpoint, the Saints deserve their props. As annoying as the "This one's for the city" cliche postgame interview quotes will be and all the excessive celebrating on Bourbon Street that will eventually lead to drunken riots that Fox News will no doubt blame on rap music and Obama, it really is nice to see a good guy like Brees get his day in the sun.

At least somebody has a reason to be excited about what transpired tonight.

Super Bowl Picks

The most bittersweet day of the year for football fans is here. The excitement for the biggest game of the year is tempered by the fact that there is no more NFL football after tonight, until August.

So let's get right to it.

New Orleans (+5) at Indianapolis
Over/Under - 56.5

Gabe: I have gone back and forth on this pick for two weeks. At first I thought Colts all the way. Peyton Manning is the best in the league at diagnosing defenses on the fly and countering. Also, he has two weeks to prepare for a New Orleans defense that is ranked in the mid-20's in the NFL. He has already dismantled the no. 1 and no. 3 defenses in the playoffs on the way to the Super Bowl.

BUT........

The Saints have all of the motivation in the world to win this game. On top of Katrina and helping rebuild their city and everything that comes with that, all they have heard for two weeks is how Peyton Manning is going to do his thing and smoke them. They have had to hear that they are a nice story but just won't get it done on the field. Well, when the Colts defense takes the field in this playoff game, it won't be journeyman Joe Flacco or rookie Mark Sanchez under center, it will be Drew "Motha' Fuckin'" Brees. The Saints aren't going to try to keep this game in the high teens or low twenties, scoring-wise. They are going to come out and want to run with the Colts, and if there is any team in the league that can run with the Colts, it's the Saints. The Saints offense is going to be able to match the Colts and I think the Saints defense will pressure Manning and his receivers. When the Colts receivers catch the ball they better wrap it up, because the Saints defenders will be looking for the strip, constantly, and it only takes one lost fumble after a fifty yard gain to change the momentum of a game.

Here's my prediction in a nutshell...I think the Saints, led by Drew Breeeeees!, get the outright win, with a field goal at the end of the game or in overtime, by a score of 31-28. So my official pick is the Saints (+5) and the over.

Dave: Colts(Under) - The Saints offense, while still potent, hasn't been the fast break, explosive, '99 Rams reincarnation that they looked like early in the season. That could be attributed to the fact the running game never took off to make the defenses lay off the Brees' air attack.

Plus, and this may get me in some trouble, I'm quite frankly annoyed by all of these out-of-towners suddenly jumping on the Katrina bandwagon. Hurricane Katrina was 5 years ago. If you were going to use Katrina as a reason to support the Saints(or New Orleans, in general), 2005 would have been a nice start. This sudden idea that the Saints are America's Team because they bounced back from a national tragedy to make the Super Bowl(Nevermind the fact that they were in the NFC Championship in '05. But hey, I guess if you've only been a Saints fan for three weeks, you don't remember that) is downright ridiculous. Plus, while thousands losing their lives in New Orleans is terrible and we all have a sentimental reason to back the city of New Orleans, keep in mind that this city also brought us Lil Wayne(without question, the most overrated rapper in the genre's history) and Harry Connick Jr.(I really don't have a reasoning beyond the fact that he's Harry Connick Jr and he once did a guest spot on "Friends", which is only the worst show to ever come across TV sets EVER....and that includes "The Mike O'Malley Show" and "Homeboys In Outer Space"). So if there's a reason why I'm turning my nose up at the Saints, it's because I've spent the last two weeks watching rich white women yell "Go Saints!" when they couldn't tell the difference between Drew Brees and Drew Carey.

Now, as for the Colts, they are a well-oiled machine. They've also been here before. You don't have to worry about coach Jim Caldwell getting the big game jitters because a. he has about as much emotion as Joe Buck and b. The Caldwell/Manning combo is like the Uncle Junior/Tony Soprano combo in "The Sopranos"(which IS the greatest show to ever come across TV sets....and I'm including "The Wire" and "Jersey Shore"). In other words, one man holds the title of being the boss(Caldwell playing the Uncle Junior role), while everyone knows the young prodigy is really running things(Peyton being Tony Soprano). Manning's the closest thing to a player-coach in the NFL, which is great because Caldwell's expression on the sidelines makes me wonder if he's asleep at the wheel like Kanye West. The Colts have proven that no deficit is too big for them to come back from and Peyton Manning is now the quintessential QB you can never count out. The Saints defense is swiss-cheese, with its only saving grace being free safety Darren Sharper(whom, if you read our Prop Bet piece, I have taking at least one Manning INT to the house). The Colts have something that mildly resembles a running game, while the Saints have Rashard Mendenhall's caddy at Illinois(Pierre Thomas) and the man mopping up Ray J's sloppy seconds(Reggie Bush).

Reggie Bush has been so ineffective after all the hype coming out of USC, that he's probably one crap season away from joining the cast of "Keeping Up With The Kardashians". Bush is obviously the X-Factor(as is injured pass rusher Dwight Freeney). If Bush shows signs of a pulse, the Saints have a chance for an upset, but if the Saints can't establish the run early and keep the D honest, then we're looking at a shootout. And in a shootout, Peyton Manning is Neo, and Drew Brees is Agent Smith.

So, with this being our final pick of the season, here's my final score: Colts 28, Saints 17.

Your Super Bowl MVP: Pierre Garcon(because he's reppin' Haiti....and that's not so 5 years ago.)


Thank you, and good night!